Pakistan players are unlikely to feature in the upcoming Abu Dhabi T10 after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) withheld their No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) unless the league pays $10,000 for each player cleared to participate.
The late demand has left franchises with little time to decide whether to pay the additional fee or find replacement players ahead of the tournament’s scheduled start on November 7, ESPNcricinfo reported.
According to the report, Abu Dhabi T10 management submitted applications for NOCs for Pakistani players shortly after the player draft on September 30. However, the PCB communicated its $10,000-per-player demand only at the beginning of this week.
Franchises explore replacement options
As many as 16 Pakistani cricketers were selected by five of the tournament’s six teams. Some players were reportedly willing to pay the fee from their own salaries if franchise owners declined to cover the additional cost.
Despite efforts to mediate the issue, teams have begun exploring replacement options, according to ESPNcricinfo.
The PCB had also withheld NOCs for Pakistani players participating in the Nepal Premier League last month, reportedly demanding $25,000 per player. While Hussain Talat and Jahandad Khan continued playing, most Pakistani cricketers returned without taking part in the tournament.
PCB’s overseas league NOC policy
The PCB has periodically sought fees from overseas franchise leagues in exchange for issuing NOCs to Pakistani players, with the issue emerging prominently around the launch of the ILT20.
A PCB official told ESPNcricinfo that the rationale was to seek compensation from leagues where the board did not consider reciprocal player availability arrangements sufficiently beneficial.
The board has also revised its NOC policy under the new central contracts. T20 specialists in Track C are no longer subject to a cap on the number of overseas T20 and T10 leagues they can play in, provided they remain available for national duty.
Players in other contract categories face different restrictions. Dual-format specialists in Track AB are permitted to play one overseas league annually, while white-ball specialists in Track BC can play two. Red-ball specialists in Track A are not allowed to participate in overseas T20 or T10 competitions.
However, the PCB has yet to announce its new central contracts, leaving it unclear which players fall under each category. The previous contracts expired on June 30, 2026.
Geopolitical tensions also limit opportunities
Pakistani cricketers already face restrictions in several overseas leagues because of strained relations between Pakistan and India. They remain excluded from the Indian Premier League, while teams owned by Indian business groups have largely avoided signing Pakistani players in other competitions.
No Pakistani player has appeared in South Africa’s SA20, where all six franchises are owned by IPL team owners.
There have been some exceptions. Abrar Ahmed was signed by Sunrisers Leeds for the men’s Hundred, while Usman Tariq has represented Trinidad Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League and was selected by Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for the ILT20.
The PCB had not responded to ESPNcricinfo’s queries at the time of publication.
Pakistani players selected for Abu Dhabi T10
The 16 players picked in the draft were:
- Arabian Aces: Salman Irshad
- Emirates Eagles: Akif Javed, Hasan Nawaz, Ali Raza
- Royal Desert Champions: Naseem Shah
- UAE Bulls: Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Khawaja Nafay, Khushdil Shah, Azam Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr
- United Tigers: Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Sufyan Moqeem, Abbas Afridi
